Run Like Rick: A How-To on Jogging While Armed

(April 30) -- It instantly became a part of Rick Perry lore, and likely not to the displeasure of the Texas governor: Jogging on a trail outside Austin, he told The Associated Press, he came across a coyote that hungrily eyed his daughter's Labrador. Perry then did the "appropriate thing," he said, pulling out his laser-sighted Ruger .380 and shooting the coyote dead.

But wait. Perry was doing what?

Or, as an incredulous Austinite put it in the Houston Chronicle, expressing a question pondered by many: "Whoever heard of someone jogging with a gun?"

As it happens, it's not that unusual, according to conversations with gun owners and instructors who view taking a gun running no differently than they do taking one to the supermarket or the gym. It does, though, present certain logistical challenges.

"Jogging while carrying a pistol can be a tough situation to deal with," says Kyle Hausen, a Cincinnati-area police officer and firearms instructor who jogs with his pistol. Indeed, it's not like you can just grab any off-the-shelf six-shooter and jam it in your pocket. "Jogging shorts are loose fitting, and having a pistol smack you in the thigh each step gets very annoying very quickly." To say nothing of the risk of pulling a Plaxico Burress.

One key to successfully packing while running, says Hausen, is to start with the right hardware: "I bought the simplest and lightest iPod I could find to use while jogging. I do the same when choosing a pistol to jog with." Specifically, he uses a Kel-Tec P-32, a small, lightweight polymer pistol that he bought expressly for the purpose. Online, the Ruger used by Perry is also cited as a favorite for exercising. Oregon writer and gun advocate Chuck Hawks carries a "lightweight revolver, such as the Ruger LCR ... or a 9X19 autoloader, such as the Kahr PM."

Hausen adds that the most important thing, even more than selecting the firearm itself, is finding an optimal way to secure it. "A typical belt or waistband holster doesn't work," he says, because you'd need a separate gun belt to hold it up.

Better options include a so-called "belly band," a wide elastic belt worn around the waist.



Another alternative is a vinyl pack you belt to your chest (these are extremely conspicuous, but as devotees will tell you, that's sort of the point).


There are also athletic shirts with holsters built right into them, such as this Batman-looking article.


Or, if you prefer, you can opt for a holster you wear under your pants, such as these from SmartCarry and Thunderwear.





Finally, there's the array of fanny-pack style products available to chose from. Christopher Galosi, a genial Virginia firearms instructor who jogs with his handgun -- and says he has a number of friends who do the same -- is a fan of this last category. The uninitiated may think that would bounce around too much to be comfortable but, as Galosi says, "I'm an old fart and I don't go very fast."


Perry said he was carrying his gun because he's afraid of snakes and had seen some (as well as coyotes like the one he offed) in the area where he was running. While others who jog armed also cite a specific perceived threat, most, it seems, are already in the habit of carrying their guns for protection and see no reason why exercise should be any different. Asked when running calls for toting along lethal force, Hawks says, via e-mail, "ALWAYS." Galosi says he carries because "the police can't be everywhere."

Neither man has actually drawn while running, however. Hausen, who lives in a "nice suburb," says that while he hasn't either, there were a few incidents, mostly involving dogs, when he thought he might have to. "Dogs are probably the biggest threat on my jogging route," he says, then adds, "that and maybe an errant tricycle."